Your Next Summer Beach Read!! Best I Ever Had by Abbi Glines

by Tera · April 28, 2019

Rating:

Stephanie’s 3.75 Blush Review

Best I’ve Ever Had is the next book in the Rosemary Beach/Sea Breeze crossover. I am a huge Abbi Glines fan! Her books are my go-to when I want a pick me up. I was so excited when Abbi announced the Sea Breeze/Rosemary Beach crossover! A whole new generation of characters to get to know and love!

“The men in my family were ridiculously protective of their women.”

Rosemary Beach gave us Rush & Blaire Finlay. Oh how we love their story!!!! Well now their baby girl, Ophelia, falls for Sea Breeze’s newest bad boy, Eli Hardy – son of Marcus & Low.

We last saw Eli at the end of Because of Lila, riding off into the sunset on a motorcycle to find adventure, go and live…..

“Make bad decisions. Get a tattoo, date a stripper, work in a bar.”

Eli returns to Sea Breeze a year later for a family emergency and is a different man. He has changed inside and out. The once reliable, good guy is now closed off and tatted up! Seems he should have stayed the nice guy because being the bad boy didn’t work out so well. His pain runs deep. And his family, well, they don’t understand what happened.

“What had this Eli seen, done and experienced that changed him so much?”

Ophelia was a surprise love interest to me. Ophelia reminds me so much of Blaire! She has an innocence that Blaire had. So unaware of her beauty and thoughtfulness. But she is hesitant from being hurt in the past. She too is lost and looking for her road to follow. She is just sort of drifting and existing.

“Everyone said I was so much like my mother. But I know it was in looks only. I looked like a young Blaire Finlay.”

Ophelia is very perceptive. She has a connection with Eli that has been there since the first time she met him one year ago at Bliss and Nate’s wedding. Ophelia can still see through the new Eli and is cautious with him.

“The easy-going Eli was gone and I wanted to warn them all to be careful.”

There is no shortage of chemistry between Eli and Ophelia. The sexy times were HOT! It brought back many memories of Rush and Blaire. Eli is a dirty dirty lover! And he also talks dirty during sex! #SorrynotSorry for the spoiler!

“The beauty beside me had no idea she was breathing life where I thought there wasn’t any.”

Here are my small “complaints”- I would have loved a bit more content. There is so much that wasn’t answered or explored. And please, please – can we have an Epilogue next book?? You dropped a bomb on us and then the book just ends…?

I hate admitting that I struggled with the beginning of the crossover series – Like A Memory. The second book in the series, Because of Lila, had an insane plot twist that I never saw coming! I felt like things were starting to shape up! I feel like Abbi is getting her groove back and I am excited! This is the author that redeemed Nan!!!!

Best I’ve Ever Had features classic Abbi Glines story telling. It is told in dual POV’s with flash backs and references. The flow is much better. There are references to characters and their relationships to each other. A huge improvement from book one (Like A Memory) where we were introduced to A LOT of new characters with very unique names (there are sooo many).

I am hopeful that things will be even better with the next book. I am guessing we will be reading about Rush and Blaire’s older daughter Phoenix next… Abbi dropped a bomb on us and I can’t wait to see the ripple effect!

“Scale from one to ten?” she asked me. That one was easy. I finally gave into the smile that tugged at my lips. “Best I ever had.”

Summer had returned to the coastal town of Sea Breeze, Alabama. The nightlife lit up with scantily clad sun-kissed bodies, live music, the smell of freshly cooked seafood.
Taking it all in he wondered if coming back had been the best thing. He wasn’t the same man who had driven out of town a year ago on the motorcycle he’d spontaneously bought after his best friend’s wedding. From the messy blond curls he’d let grow out to the tattoos now covering his arms, part of his chest and even the side of his neck, it all represented a part of his journey.

Eli Hardy was back, but he didn’t plan on staying for long.

Read the First Chapter HERE!

I managed a bright smile that was so fake it was ridiculous to the other three standing there then turned on my heels and made my way to the French doors overlooking the gulf. Before I reached the exit, Eli moved in front of me and opened a door then stood back so I could go outside. There was the guy I remembered. The gentleman everyone loved. But as quickly as he appeared with the opening of the door, it was gone. No smile. No thank you for the rescue. Not even silent eye contact.

I slid off my heels and left them at the top of the stairs then headed down toward the sand below barefoot. The breeze was warm, so my arms weren’t chilled. Summer wasn’t officially here until the solstice, but in South Alabama, it had most definitely arrived.

The moon was full and walking beside Eli in the silence felt nice. There was no need to talk if he didn’t want to. We’d done that already. I hadn’t gotten him out here to talk anyway. I was tired of talking today. I’d done more than I usually did. Besides, Eli had little to say. No need to force him to speak.

The house was just a light in the distance when he finally spoke.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

I lifted a shoulder to give a half shrug. Still no thank you. Not even the sound of gratitude. “You looked like you needed an escape.”

“I did,” he agreed.

“I was headed upstairs to escape myself. But I couldn’t ignore my hero mentality and let a poor guy get eaten alive by angry females.”

“Hmmm,” was his only response. What did that mean? And why did it have to sound so raspy and sexy? I should be annoyed by his lack of response. Not turned on by a deep husky rumble.

Back off Ophelia. Don’t go there. You already discussed this with yourself. He is off limits. Girl code unscripted or some shit. “I owe you one.” His voice and words surprising me. That was as close to a thank you I was going to get, but I’d take it. Besides if he was gushing over me and appreciative would I be as attracted to him? I knew that answer and I was going to pretend I didn’t. It made me sound shallow. I hated shallow. Needing to get out of my own head, I decided I’d do the small talk thing. Or attempt it with him.

“No, I think we are even now. I owed you one,” I told him. I felt his gaze on me then. Meeting that gaze was a stupid idea.

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Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.